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Petronet seeks to set up LNG terminal in Goa

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

Petronet LNG Limited, India's public sector company of liquified natural gas, is exploring the possibility of setting up an LNG terminal in Goa.

The LNG terminal in the western region could meet requirements of Goa and Karnataka, especially the Hospet-Bellary steel sector and the Belgaum-Dharwar industrial belt. Besides, the ports of Mormugao in Goa and Mangalore, the Seabird naval base in Karwar could also benefit from it.

A Petronet team led by its chairman and managing director S C Mathur has recently held discussions with the Goa state authorities, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and top industrialists such as the Chowgules, the Salgaoncars and the Zuaris.

Petronet has plans to supply green fuel to the power generating plants of around 1000 mega-watts. It hopes the ports, hotel industry, fertiliser plants, auto accessory industry, sponge iron sector and even sewerage plants could also benefit tremendously from LNG, when fuel like naphtha is becoming a scarce commodity.

The green fuel is pure methane, which is liquefied and stored at minus 160 degrees Celsius. Goa appears to be the ideal place for it, having downloading facilities for ships as well as advanced telecommunication facilities. A pipeline would be laid down to the respective destinations, having a limit of upto 300 km, to supply the liquefied natural gas.

Petronet has already begun work at Dahej in Gujarat and Cochin in Kerala for having two terminals of five million tonnes and 2.5 MT of LNG per annum respectively. Goa's terminal could be between one to 2.5 MT, informs Mathur, with an investment upto to $ 500 million.

The LNG would be imported from Qatar, for which the Indian government has already signed an agreement. The sale agreement is expected to be signed by both the parties by May-end.

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